London Korean Links

Covering things Korean in London and beyond since 2006

2018 travel diary 3 – The Smile of Baekje

10 – 11 November 2018. My trips to Korea are usually preceded by a hurried piece of research on the Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA) website trying to find out what notable items of tangible or intangible heritage, or what other historic or scenic sites there might be, to attract an inquisitive traveller to the places … [Read More]

Song Si-yeol, the scholar with the chisel

I have now visited three places where Joseon dynasty scholar-official Song Si-yeol has made his mark. In none of the places did I register the connection until after returning to London; in two of the places I never got to see the mark he left (there wasn’t enough time on the schedule) and in the … [Read More]

Donguibogam to be upgraded to National Treasure status

To be honest, I’ve always wondered why an item listed in UNESCO’s Memory of the World register was only rated a “Treasure” (no 1085) rather than a “National Treasure”. The three sets of the encyclopaedia’s first edition are currently held by the National Library of Korea, the Kyujanggak Institute For Korean Studies and the Academy … [Read More]

Kkokdu – a cortege’s colourful attendants

Accompanying the KCC’s exhibition of Korean funerary figures, Charlotte Horlyck gave a helpful lecture providing some historical background and context to these colourful wooden characters. The talk was particularly valuable as the introduction provided by the director of the Kkokdu Museum a few weeks previously had lacked much content. While generally admitting that not much … [Read More]